Couche-Tard in talks to buy Carrefour
The $20-billion operation would produce a trans-Atlantic retailing giant.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the Canadian owner of Circle K convenience stores, is considering the acquisition of French grocer Carrefour SA in a $20 billion deal that would turn them into a trans-Atlantic retailing giant, according to Bloomberg.
Couche-Tard said Tuesday it has started “exploratory discussions" on a friendly deal with Carrefour, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. The news have seen Carrefour’s shares climb by over 10%.
The move would introduce Couche-Tarde into the large supermarket segment as the Canadian retailer has historically focused on convenience stores and gas stations. Carrefour has more than 2,800 supermarkets and 703 larger-format hypermarkets Europe. In Latin America, it has stores in Argentina and Brazil.
Couche-Tard has a network of more than 9,000 convenience stores in North America, most of which also offer fuel retail, according to its website. It also had about 2,700 locations in Europe as of October last year.
It has built its empire through the acquisition of smaller rivals in various markets across the globe. It agreed in 2016 to buy U.S. gas-station operator CST Brands Inc. for around $4 billion, and gained a foothold in Scandinavia and the Baltic region through its 2012 purchase of Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA.
